This is my family’s version of compote. It’s a Shabbos must-have. Just as we have challah, chicken soup, fish, and kugel…we have compote. It’s usually the dessert on Friday night. During the day, I’ll serve a dessert that’s different and fun, or sometimes vice versa. My kids always want to know what’s for dessert…it’s compote! Compote also freezes beautifully, and since I find that it takes a long time to peel and chop fruit, once I’m making compote, I don’t only want a little bit…I want enough to last for many weeks. This recipe makes enough to fill eight (two-pound size) containers. I’ll do the same thing when I make soup. It takes awhile, so I’ll make a 12-quart pot and freeze. I’ll never make compote and soup in the same week.

Around this time of year, my mother-in-law’s freezer is filled with three shelves of compotes made from summer fruits.

In the winter, we might make compote from strawberries and rhubarb, and we recently made an easy one from pears and strawberries.